Police say the driver, Jackson Ruelle Davies, 19, was heading south toward Wrightsville Avenue when he hit Reese before running off the road and slamming into a tree and utility pole.

Ben Jones lives just down the road from where the accident happened. He says when he came home from work he was met with a frightening sight.

"There were about 30-40 cop cars out here as well as ambulance and fire department," Jones said. "I believe that he was trapped in the car for a while, and it looked like they pulled him out and put him on a stretcher going to an ambulance."

Davies had to be extricated from the car and was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center. He is charged with DWI, and police say additional charges are pending.

Reese was later pronounced dead.

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Okay okay calm down y'all --deep breaths. As with anything there are two sides to this story. Making judgements and jumping to conclusions about what Jackson did or didn't do and what Cory did or didn't do is pointless and makes you look like a moron. Drinking underage doesn't make you a bad evil person just like being in the Marines doesn't make you a good person.

After going outside to see why his friend was being kicked out, Davies was confronted by three men being rudely asked to leave. Stupidity kicked in and Davies head butted Reese. Realizing what he had just done he ran away with his female DD Kim. By the time they got in the car and had turned around the car was surrounded by at least ten frat brothers/Reese. The men were demanding Davies step out of the car to get beaten by them. Chants like "Your f*****d" "Your dead" " We are going to kill you" were being made. Davies was pleading with his DD to drive his car away from the mob, but she was frozen in fear. After many failed attempts to make her drive she got out of the car while it was in park yet turned on. The mob took that chance to hold the door open while Davies was trying to shut it to lock himself in his vehicle. After being beaten in the face, and almost being pried out by his ear, and arm Davies threw on his seatbelt and tried to drive. Reese Jumped on the car, trying to prevent him from driving so that the mob could have their way with him some more, but in fear of his life Davies started to drive off with Reese on the hood. After driving about 1/8 of a mile Davies stopped the car in order for Reese to get off the hood, but he did not. Davies started driving again out of pure adrenaline. Not being able to see anything he ran into a tree causing Reese's death.

That is what witnesses have come forward and said. This article was published before any amount of truth could reach the public.

I feel sorry for you people. Cory was my older sister's best friend, and now he's gone and his funeral is soon. We were just looking through pictures of them together in highschool. This wonderful person is gone. So let me ask you. Does it feel good to have your 5 minutes of fame? To see other people's reaction? In the end this man is dead, and his family and friends are heartbroken because of it. I just hope you realize how hurtful words can be. Please be respectful, not because he was a marine, but because he was an amazing person with a life that was taken away too soon. We love you Cory.

It is called house hopping down Rose Avenue and Ridgewood Heights Drive. The newbies each semester all get together with the frat houses and put on these parties. There is a lot of underage drinking and drugs being done at those houses. The cops get called and come and try to break it up and it takes forever. We are not talking about 20 kids we are talking about hundreds of kids in one space. I have seen a backyard so full you can see steam rising in the air. It is horrible and the college does nothing!!! They turn a blind eye to the mess. Outta sight outta mind for them. All they care about is the money mommy and daddy are giving to them. Those parties have been going on as long as I have lived on Ridgewood heights (7) years I was there. I have since moved and am happy not to be around. Having to police your yard til all hours of the morning is crap. Kids throwing up, taking a pee, passing out. I have found a boy on my lawn in the morning and gave him a rude awakening with cold water. Think it is past time for UNCW to give back to the neighborhoods around them who has had to put up with the immature kids from UNCW. Sorry for the life that was lost and sorry for the other life that is forever ruined by a drunken mishap.

I found this comment to be particularly silly. First and foremost, a man lost his life where you chose to live and your experiences there are quite insignificant pertaining to this incident. Secondly, you should have taken note of your surroundings before moving into that area. The areas around UNCW are known for housing an abundance of college students, as they should be. What exactly is UNCW supposed to do? Students pay to attend their institution not to have them police their lives. That is the job of the police who you said frequent the area due to parties and what not.

As some one who is very intimate with the REAL details of the story please read. There was a party at the fraternities house, jack and his friends were requested to leave, at the front of the house an altercation occurred and jack ran with his DD to HIS car as many members of the frat chased him. The DD got in the diver seat and jack in the passenger seat. The frat caught up but the doors were locked. the began banging on the window and yelling threats trying to get to jack. The DD had a panic attack and refused to leave. Jack told her to get out and when she got out he jumped into the divers seat and while the doors were open the members of the frat were punching him and trying to pull him out. as jack started to move forward the marine jumped on the hood and windshield in order to stop him from leaving. jack drove off with him on the hood but due to the fact that he couldn't see because of the marine banging on the window he crashed. This is a terrible tragedy for everyone involved. My heart goes out to Corys family but these facts will all come out in court, please reserve judgment.

there you go. Just a normal night at a frat... You guys are terrible for knowing the truth but yet threatening kids, lying, and letting their "Friends" memory be be slandered. YOUR MAKING HIM LOOK BAD. You are grown men and yet you beat up a little freshman. Why was a 22 year old marine beating up a skinny little 19 year old? quit acting like you guys were wronged. Obviously theres more to the story than a simple hit and run. RIP homie. hope your "friends" can get themselves together.

Drunk driving is not a mistake. It is a choice. There seem to be other factors involved in this case that is more than drunk driving, but that does not change the fact that drunk driving is a choice. Wearing a blue sock with a black sock is a mistake. Playing the wrong card in a game of gin is a mistake. Consuming alcohol or drugs, knowing that you will be getting behind the wheel of a car is not a mistake. It is a choice.

Submitted by It wasn't his choice (not verified) on Thu, 02/20/2014 - 10:23pm.

here is the thing though. It wasn't his plan to get behind the wheel and drive. he had a DD if you have read any of the other posts. Not only did he have a DD but he was beating threatened, and beat up in the process. In that instinct he fled and it was the only thing he saw he had the option to do.

yes the news gives out facts. but the reason he wasn't charged with murder or manslaughter? I live in jacks, or Jackson's, town. he's a great kid. makes mistakes but who doesn't. he didn't "kill a random marine" because he was drunk. my friend was his DD. the 22 year old marine and about 5 others jumped and robbed jack. he jumped in the car and told the dd to drive. she was too scared. he said let me drive and she jumped in the backseat. as he was going to drive away, Corey jumped on the roof of his car and wouldn't get off. jack didn't know what to do. corey then went on the hood of the car banging the windshield causing jack to run off the road and crash. but hey the news doesn't tell you that side of the story do they? make it sound like all jacks fault. as if he isn't in enough emotional and physical pain right now.

If the girl was in the car [back seat as you state] then why was she not hurt in the accident? According to the news the driver had to be extracted from the vehicle after the murder and subsequent crash, with no mention of a passenger in the back seat or anywhere else for that matter.

You seem to have a great deal of information and excuses for why this marine was run down and murdered by this 19 year old who was consuming vodka while driving. Were you there when the vehicle hit him and then ran off the road?

Ooookay calm down, Marie. Two young men's lives are destroyed. Trust me, I get it! You are angry and want the blame to be placed and punishments given out. Going after blood is not the way to make this easier. Jackson is as much of a person as you, me and Cory Reese. He's a kid who fucked up big time, yes. But he has rights and he will have his day in court.

You are making it sound like Jackson drove after Reese and meant to hit him and meant to kill him. Do you think that someone who was intentionally run down by a vehicle would have been pounding on the windshield? Absolutely not. You may not know Jackson Davies, but I do. I know that he is not a murderer.

There is no article or comment or shred of evidence that Jackson ran down the Marine with his car. Cory Reese was on the hood of the car and wouldn't get off. Jackson was driving drunk. There's nothing anyone can do to change that fact. Jackson will deal with this horrible incident for the rest of his life regardless of the severity of punishment given from the court.

So, Marie, take a deep breath, stop jumping to conclusions and stop making up things that didn't happen. If you were not there that awful awful night, if you did not witness first hand what went on at that house, then sit down and be quiet.

This 'kid' posted a picture to twitter shortly before the accident. The picture was taken from the passenger seat with Jack behind the week guzzling a large bottle of Vodka. Idiot and now someone is dead.

The bottle in his hand was not opened and he was just a teenage boy joking around not trying to hurt anyone in the picture. There was no alcohol in his system in that picture. Know the facts before you say anything.

We all lose people to drugs, alcohol and reason we wish never existed but you people arguing and bitching about this isnt getting anywhere. Just because this kid made a mistake, doesn't give you the right to judge him. There are PLENTY of people in the military that drive drunk and do horrible things, that being said i do support my troops, but they can be awful people too. I feel bad for the parents of the marine, but guess what...they arnt the only people who lost someone they loved. This kid needs to live with this mistake, pay his fines, maybe serve jail time, but in the end, your judgements and opinions wont even matter. Instead of wasting your time on here, and if your so concerned with the family of the marine then go donate to the family that lost the marine, dont sit here and bitch.

It is horribly offensive for you to equate fines and jail time with the LOSS of someones LIFE. Cory's life was taken from him at 22 years old, and that is a horrible tragedy on its own. If you think that fines and jail time are equal to that, or that a monetary donation to Cory's family will compensate for their loss, you need to reconsider your personal values. His family and friends will miss him forever and forever mourn this loss. Rest in peace, Cory. I love you dearly and hope your family and the rest of your friends are able to find peace.

I don't know that anyone is judging the driver as a person, they are simply saying that drinking and driving is wrong and that is it disgusting that someone has lost their life for no reason that makes sense. That is not hating Davies, but hating the idea that anyone would get into a car and drive drunk, forever altering the lives of Cory and so many close to him. It scares me that so many are calling this a mistake or are talking about how many people they know who drive drunk, which somehow makes this okay. "It's just a common thing to do, people do it all the time" is the tone I'm hearing. The message needs to be heard loud and clear that this is not a mistake, but a criminal act (every time you do it, not just when you kill someone) and we all need to agree that it is inexcusable. It is selfish to put your own family and other people's lives at risk and that's what you do when you drink and drive. I feel sick that Davies has done this to his life and to his family - what a terrible waste - but to insinuate that him paying a fine, doing jail time and feeling bad is somehow even close to what Cory and his family will experience for the rest of their lives shows no grip on the reality of this kind of loss. The driver's family has their son, can hug him, can share a life with him (maybe, not the life they planned), but Cory's family will never share another moment with him. Maybe it's just youth, but when you have a child of your own and think back on this, I guarantee you will realize you would much rather you child be in the driver's position (hurt, facing jail time), than Cory's. Prayers to Cory's friends and family. I am so sorry.

I'm a friend of Cory's family in Richmond. Let's try to remember to keep our focus on this great young man that we lost too early. His family is just crushed. His younger sister adored him, his brothers deeply respected and admired him, and his parents loved him and were so proud of him. Let's remember this part of the story, and keep our thoughts with them. There will be plenty of time to deal with Davies.

Let us not forget that this fine young marine was standing on the driver's hood after being involved in a multiperson fight. Sounds like the marine would have been better off if he hadn't have gone to a college party (I'm sure with 3-4 other males and zero girls) where he knows absolutely no one.

As a veteran of the Wilmington party/bar scene, I would venture to guess that the marines were getting aggressive when they realized they would only be going home with each other. I've seen quite a few college kids get stomped when the alcohol compounded with sexual frustration and some of our "heros" got angry.

Let's vilify the victim and hold a drunk driver blameless. That will solve all of society's problems.

Since you like assumptions, shall I assume that since you are a veteran of the Wilmington party/bar scene, that you have a bunch of dead brain cells due to alcohol consumption? Should I just call you a lush and accuse you of simply standing up for your fellow drunk? If drinking is your activity of choice, maybe you're just a no good sot who has no positive benefit to society and we would all be better off if you just stay in your bars. I am glad I don't live in Wilmington. I would really hate to be on the road with you. There's no telling when you'll be driving drunk.

While I am not a member of the Wilmington "party/bar scene" I do know this young Marine and know that he was visiting a lifelong friend who is a member of the fraternity. Jack on the other hand was not invited and was not welcome. Your facts are wrong and your rationalization for this kids behavior is wrongheaded. This young man lost his life and you jump to the conclusion that he picked a fight because he was sexually frustrated? That is wrong on so many levels and is an insult to Cory, The Marine Corps, and the Marine's family. Crawl back under your rock.

Marines are known for their ridiculous behavior around here, as are frat guys. Maybe he should have reconsidered being so violent and taking it to the extent of jumping on the hood of the car. Who he was visiting and why he was acting out are insignificant to this incident. It is sad that he lost his life but every action had a reaction. None of my personal experiences with Marines have been positive in the slightest. Of course the boy shouldn't have drive drunk but given the situation, I'm not sure what else those frat guys and that marine expected him to do. This incident is full of ignorance and bunch of BOYS who obviously can't handle the effects of alcohol.

Not having all of the facts, on the surface, this is DWI and vehicular manslaughter. No one should be able to take a life, even if it was an accident, and get away with a slap on the wrist and a loss of their driver's license if they chose to drive while under the influence. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but nowadays people seem to think you don't have to pay for your mistakes. Someone DIED because of this person's combination of immaturity and poor judgment. Driving while under the influence is a choice. No one else should have to pay for that bad choice. Had he himself died in the accident it would have been sad, but a direct result of his own choices and actions. In this case someone else died who was NOT a part of the driver's bad choice. If the marine played a part in what happened then we will all find that out in time, but for now, with what we know, the driver must take responsibility for his actions and suffer the consequences. It's the least he can do considering he killed another human being. What if the one he killed had been your brother or sister, your own child, your spouse or your parent?